Memories Always Sting
by Mitchi Takahashi
Summary: As teens bordering on young adults, the sennin are just beginning to learn how to cope with unimaginable feelings. But when thrust into an unusual mission, just how will the three handle the suprising confession of one to another who won't return it?


_Jiraiya threaded his fingers through his hair, watching as a dragonfly made its way past the flower bed across from him. He swung his head to the side, flipping his prematurely white hair out of his line of sight and rested his eyes on a beautiful woman descending the stairs in a purple kimono. Her black hair flowed around her petite frame and her ochre eyes settled upon Jiraiya. Her face remained emotionless and she approached him. "You look like a woman," Jiraiya said with a smirk._

_Orochimaru glared at him, revealing just a touch more of his lilac markings as he pushed his hair from his shoulder and rested his pale fingertips on the bottom of his obi. "And you look like an old man." He said simply walking past him and nodding to Tsunade as they made their way to the high school. _

_The trio walked silently for most of the way, as people in the streets skirted out of their way. The sennin, top of their class and definitely the best in the village; Tsunade, a spunky medic nin with more strength then a woman should possess and a temper shorter than that of a sleep deprived alligator, Orochimaru, the tactical and quiet genius, his skills were coupled with a cold demeanor that sent shivers down any opponent's spine, and Jiraiya, the goofy exotic one, with a mind as talented as the other two, but with an attitude that made him seem less then mature, though his ability to bring a smile to someone's face could never be over looked either. Together they made a group of friends that absolutely hated each others' guts to the point where a fist fight ensued upon almost every snide remark or cutting comment._

_They arrived at the school and Tsunade automatically rushed in to collect her things from the lockers. She had ten minutes to do her geometry and only enough coffee in take for the easy ones. A tanned hand pressed a travel mug into Tsuande's porcelain hand as she stared at the problems in front of her. They looked like a different language all together! She smiled up at Hitomi and took a large gulp of it. Blue eyes crinkled as Hitomi smile back and green flashed through them as they snapped wide, spotting Orochimaru. "I know that color," Tsunade said with a smirk as she ran through the steps to the first line of problems; eight minutes left. The next line was easier as the caffeine began to travel to her brain and soon the paper was full of answers, with only a minute on the clock. She shoved it into her bag, her black tee straining across her chest with the effort and sighed with relief as she slung it over her shoulder. She stood up and stuck a hand into the pocket of her tattered jeans and tapped her sneaker tip on the café tiles. Looking to the clock she sighed before yelling caught her attention._

"_Listen Snakey, shut the fuck up or I'll make you!"_

"_Like you could dumbass," was the calm reply, which only enticed the other more._

_There was a loud crash and the school was down yet another table as Jiraiya slammed into Orochimaru, his fist making way for his jaw. It was quickly deflected and Orochimaru grabbed his wrist, giving it a sharp yank. "See, a dumbass. Like usual." He sneered. Jiraiya growled and grabbed a handful of the raven hair; yanking Orochimaru's head back he brought his knee into the other's stomach. Orochimaru hissed and wrapped a smooth leg around his waist and dug the heel into the base of his spine, drawing out a small grunt of pain._

"_Asshole!" Jiraiya shot out as his elbow connected with Orochimaru's side and was flipped so he was on bottom of the pile. Orochimaru ground his knee into a tender spot on his thigh and grunted as a hand grabbed the back of his kimono and pulled him off._

"_Don't make me punch you." She said simply setting Orochimaru on his feet and pulled Jiraiya to his. "I'm not paying for the table either." Hitomi smiled cutely and looked at Orochimaru shyly, out of the corner of her eyes. He ignored her, his hatred filled glare locked onto the toad sage standing in front of him. Jiraiya huffed and looked away stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest. Orochimaru rested his hands on his hips and looked the other way, his bottom lip set in a straight line while his top curled in disgust._

"-ya." The toad sage grunted in his sleep softly. "Jiraiya!" Snapping awake the sage blinked wildly and looked at the blonde girl shaking him.

"What do you want Tsunade?" he asked groggily, yawning and pushing her away in one swift motion. The blonde stared at him with a frown.

"Did you forget about our mission today or what?" she asked sharply and Jiraiya flinched.

"My alarm!" he said looking over to find his clock had come unplugged somehow. He sighed and stood up reaching for his tunic. Tsunade whistled teasingly and he stuck his tongue out, tying the sash around his waist and donning his red vest. Retying his pants he yawned and shrugged his shoulders. His bag slung onto his back he looked into the mirror and attempted to smooth his hair down, and as usual, he failed. Rolling her eyes, the blonde pulled open the door and shouted for him to hurry up. Catching up quickly he smiled widely and threaded his fingers together at the base of his neck. Orochimaru came up beside him, his arm accidentally brushing against Jiraiya's before he pulled away and flipped his hair back. Jiraiya moved to the side with practice to avoid the whip, the scent of cool rain and earth washing over him. He breathed it in, before catching a sigh and looked around at the deserted street. It was still extremely early, with the sky just beginning to tint pink as the sun began to peek over the horizon. A small firefly passed his line of view and he sighed watching it.

"What was that?" Tsunade asked, her chocolate brown eyes scanning over to him. Jiraiya shrugged.

"I hate being up this early." Yawning he stretched his arms behind him. Orochimaru glanced at them before looking forward again, not saying much. Tsunade nodded and they walked in silence for some time.

"Glad you could make it," Sarutobi said with a smirk as he leaned against a fence. Pushing away he smiled widely and pushed his hands into his pockets, the rough pants wrinkling slightly. His clothes were almost void of color as he stood in the shade. He sighed, noticing Jiraiya's obvious lack of motivation this morning and looked over at his star pupil, Orochimaru.

Orochimaru stared back at his teacher, his poison colored eyes tinted with an unexplainable emotion as they flickered over to the buffoon standing next to him. Just as quickly as he looked over he 

returned his gaze to Sarutobi and licked his lips against the chilly morning air. "What is our mission today?" he asked pointedly. Tsunade nodded, curious as to why they were in an alley, close to the middle of the night, and still had not been briefed.

Sarutobi shrugged. "We have plenty of time to discuss that, for now, let's go inside." He said opening a door to the side of him. It led to a remote and dim room filled with strange looking instruments. He plucked the string on one of them and smiled before continuing to another room, the three teens following closely behind. Interest showed on their faces to different degrees, but apparent on all.

Tsunade was the first to make a comment. "What are all these things?" she asked.

"Musical devices used in battle." Was the only explanation they got. Trading looks amongst themselves the sennin said nothing as they continued following. Jiraiya let his hands drop from behind his head to hang next to his side as he looked around. Something about this place was really giving him the creeps. Sarutobi stopped and turned to them. "We're being sent on a particularly dangerous mission. An assassination of a famous shinobi who uses music as a weapon. Sound can't be stopped, so we're here to teach you how to keep its effects from you." He said. Orochimaru perked up and began to listen intently. "First off, our opponent's moves revolve around genjutsu for the most part, which means it can be broken like any other. Utilize a disruption in your chakra flow and keep an eye on your team mates. If one of them falls under, inject your chakra into them." Sarutobi shrugged and waved a hand around at the instruments. "These are some of the things you'll be seeing him try to use, so stay on your guard." The trio nodded and Tsunade put her hands on her hips.

"Now here's the worst part," he continued, the sennin looked at him suspiciously. "We have to infiltrate his nightclub… which only admits couples. Tsunade, you're going in with me, which mean;" Jiraiya's eyes went wide as he and Orochimaru turned to look at each other in a mix of surprise and disgust. "Orochimaru, you're going to dress as Jiraiya's girlfriend." Their teacher finished.

Both were too stunned to say anything.


End file.
